The Hot Dog Realization
by haley1508
Summary: Leonard and Penny don't realize what they had until it almost gets taken away from them.


**All right, so I've NEVER written a fic before, but I had a dream a few nights ago that I couldn't get out of my head soooo it turned into this! I hope it's not terrible!**

**I don't own anything! If I did, I probably wouldn't even be writing this.**

**And I'd LOVE some feedback and constructive reviews so if I ever right in the future, I'll have suggestions! ENJOY!**

**The Hot Dog Realization**

Penny turned the stove on, poured water into the pot, and opened the cabinet to get the spaghetti. Tonight, she was having Sheldon over for dinner, something they did every so often, as Sheldon believed spending quality time with a friend was the social protocol in order to maintain that said friendship. As the water started boiling, she poured the pasta into the pot and started looking around for the other ingredients. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out the sauce, not able to find the hot dogs anywhere.

"Aw, balls," Penny sighed a heave of frustration as she threw the empty spaghetti box by the stove, grabbed her keys, and headed out the door.

When she reached the middle of the hallway, she contemplated going and asking the boys if they had hot dogs. She decided against it, however, because, first off, she knew they wouldn't have them. She had told Sheldon earlier in the day that she would buy hot dogs for their dinner tonight, so he was probably under the assumption that he wouldn't need his own. If she went in there and they didn't have hot dogs, Leonard, being the unbelievably nice guy he is, would offer to go out and buy some for her- this is why she couldn't go into their apartment. She and Leonard were trying to get back into the swing of being friends. However, the sweeter he was to her, the harder it was for her to move on. If she succumbed to his kindness, he would just go on being the adorable, giving Leonard he was when they were going out; the Leonard she fell head over heels for. She couldn't be around that Leonard anymore; that was the Leonard she hurt, the Leonard she'd rejected twice, the Leonard whose heart she'd ripped into a million pieces. The one thing she was trying to avoid was to want that Leonard back.

She walked down the stairs at a steady pace, trying to clear her thoughts, not in any rush to get back home.

"So, what do you guys want to do tonight?" Howard said as Leonard handed him his Tai food. "Should we play some Call of Duty? Watch Battlestar Galactica? Possibly a necessary rematch of Wii Bowling?"

"Excuse me, but any rematch that were to exist would not be considered necessary. Raj and I beat you and Leonard fair and square."

"Sheldon" Leonard chimed in, "You know its custom to let the player in the right lane bowl first."

"Yes, it's customary, not obligatory. As I was tricked by Wil Wheaton, you did not expect me to use the same trickery and deceit as my arch nemesis, thus creating flawless execution in my strategy."

"Let's forget about bowling. How about we play a round of secret laser obstacle chess?" Raj suggested.

"Ah, as fun as that sounds, I'm afraid I cannot join you guys tonight, as I have my dinner with Penny in an hour."

Leonard looked up from his food and turned his attention towards his best friend. "Oh, that's tonight? That-that's fun, you two have fun."

"Leonard, I'm sensing you're either upset or nauseated."

"No, not at all, I'm fine." The truth was, he wasn't fine. Leonard spent the best 8 months of his life with Penny, and now they couldn't even be alone in a room together without making it awkward. It pained him to see Sheldon hang out with Penny and wonder if he and Penny would ever return to being as close as they were before. He wanted to have dinners with Penny and just chat and hang out. He wanted her to come to him when she needed computer help. He wanted her. But since he couldn't have that, he wanted the closest thing he could get; a friendship with her.

50 minutes later, after turning on an episode of Battlestar Galactica, Sheldon was about to go over to Penny's for dinner, but as he was walking to the door, his Vulcan hearing picked up a strange, almost roaring noise coming from Penny's apartment. "Do you guys hear that?"

Before they could answer, the sound became louder and closer, the air around them started getting warmer, and in seconds, their fire alarm started going off. Leonard leapt up and opened the apartment door only to find smoke drifting out from under Penny's door into the hallway.

"Guys, get out _no_w. I need to get Penny."

As the three guys started running down the stairs, Howard turned around. "Leonard, come on! You can't risk your life to save Penny, you'll never make it! You have to come with us!"

"GO! I'm getting Penny."

"You're crazy! She might not even be in there, and if she is, the whole apartment's filled with flames. There's no way you'll be able to save her, now come on!"

Before Leonard had a chance to react, Howard grabbed his arm and dragged him down the stairs, just before the fire reached the hallway.

When they got outside safely, Leonard got out his phone and dialed 911. The fire department wasn't here yet, and it was just a waiting game as they looked through the open windows to see flames destroying their home, children crying, and terrified residents running out of the building. None of this mattered to Leonard, however- all he could think about was Penny.

As Penny turned onto Euclid Avenue, she was lost in her thoughts. Thoughts about her acting career, thoughts about Nebraska, but mostly thoughts about Leonard. About to turn onto her road, she started looking forward to dinner with Sheldon; she didn't have to talk about the stressful situations in her life- in fact, she probably wouldn't even have to talk. Mention Star Wars and Sheldon could hold the conversation for a good while. Looking ahead, however, she heard a loud commotion, saw police cars lined up against the side of the road, and saw smoke up ahead, realizing there had just been a fire, and a serious one at that. _God, I can't even imagine._ But as she made the final turn, she was shocked to see she wouldn't have to imagine. This was her apartment. In total shock, she looked up to see endless amounts of smoke fiercely exiting through the windows of the fourth and fifth stories of her apartment. Her first thoughts weren't how she'd lost everything she owned, or the fact that she didn't have a home. Her first thought upon seeing 4A and 4B completely gone was Leonard.

After they all calmed down, Howard went to call Bernadette to tell her he was okay, Raj was talking to a nearby police officer, and Sheldon interrogated the fire chief, telling him that if only they'd been here sooner, he wouldn't have lost his comic book collection. All Leonard could do, however, was keep looking up at apartment 4A. He was thinking about how he'd just lost his closest friend, his first love, his everything. Sitting against the wall of a building, he pushed his palms into his eyes, trying to stop the tears from coming. Life would never be the same. He would go back to living his sheltered life, never able to be with the one person that made him feel comfortable with who he was. Life wouldn't seem worth living without Penny in it.

Penny got out of her car and ran up to the nearest police officer.

"Hi, I'm a resident of this building, what the hell happened?"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry to tell you, there's been a fire spreading through the top floors of your apartment, starting on the fourth floor and moving up. The cause is unknown right now, but right now we have firemen searching for any residents that couldn't get out."

Still in shock, Penny focused on the one thing that mattered to her right now. "Did you happen to see a young man, about my height, brown hair, glasses?"

"No I have not, I'm sorry."

Penny was certain Leonard was gone. And the rest of the guys probably hadn't made it either. She just collapsed on the ground and started crying. The last four years of her life was made complete by these 4 guys; more specifically, Leonard. Pulling her away from her old, shallow self and pulling her into a world she never even imagined, Leonard was the best thing to happen in her life. And to lose that rock, that support that she had forever, was something Penny couldn't even fathom. Yet right now, she was forced to face that fact.

After an hour or so, Leonard gathered himself together and decided to talk to a police officer to see what would happen next. Looking around, people were crying everywhere, those who got out a little too late were being treated, and the chaos began to ensue. Looking around, he couldn't find a police officer that wasn't talking to another resident, or reporting information back to the station. Just as he was about to give up, he saw a blonde woman kneeling on the ground, hands over her eyes. Leonard knew that gorgeous blonde hair anywhere- that was Penny.

All he could do was scream her name, as he was so in shock that she was actually alive. "Penny! Penny!" With all the commotion going on around them, she couldn't hear Leonard. "PENNY!" he screamed one more time. She looked up and saw his face. Unable to wrap her head around the fact that Leonard was here, he was safe, she slowly started to get up. Finally gaining the energy he was moments ago lacking, Leonard ran up to Penny and engulfed her in a huge hug, embracing her as tight as he possibly could. She reciprocated by wrapping her arms around him, digging her nails into his back, burying her head in his shoulder, bursting into tears yet again.

A long while later, Penny pulled away, looked into Leonard's eyes, trying to talk to him through her tears. "Oh my God, I can't believe you're here! I thought I'd lost you forever, Leonard!

Leonard wiped a tear away from her face with his thumb, tears starting to form in his eyes. "Of course I'm here, Penny. You're never going to lose me. But, how did you get out? The fire started in your apartment."

"I was at the store getting hot dogs for Sheldon. I got here after the fire was put out."

"I thought you were gone forever, Penny. I'm so glad you're here."

As Penny started crying again, Leonard pulled her back in, arms wrapped around her, stroking her hair, kissing her head, letting her know everything was going to be all right. That was all she needed.

Hours later, Howard and Bernadette walked up to the two sitting on a nearby bench, Penny leaning forward, face in hands, and Leonard sitting back with his arm around Penny, trying to comfort her. "Hey, uh, I know you don't want to be thinking about this right now, but do you guys know where you're staying tonight?" Howard asked after a few moments.

Leonard looked at Penny, whose hands were still cradling her face, then looked up at Howard. "I don't even know. Where's Sheldon going to be?"

"Well, he's been at the comic book store for a few hours now- he built himself a little nest. But he'll probably be staying with Raj. You're welcome to stay with me."

"Yeah, and Penny, you can stay at my house for the night, or as long as you need to" Bernadette offered.

Penny looked up and gave Bernadette a gracious smile, trying to thank her, but all she could let out was a meek "thank you."

"Leonard, we actually have to leave now. I have to let my mom know I'm having company before she starts making dinner. You like her brisket, right?"

"Yeah, thanks so much Howard, I'll be right there."

As Howard and Bernadette walked away, Leonard and Penny reluctantly stood up. Leonard turned to face Penny, "Looks like I have to go, but are you going to be okay?"

After a snuffle, trying to rid the last of her tears, Penny replied, "Yeah, I think so. Thank you, Leonard" she said as she walked into his arms, which he instinctively wrapped around her body. "You're so amazing." As he heard her start to cry again, Leonard tightened his grip around her and kissed her forehead, "Shhhh, everything's going to be okay. We're going to get through this." For a few more minutes, they stood there, just glad to be in the other's arms, completely oblivious to the world around them.

"LEONARD!" Howard yelled from a distance, "We really have to go! Mom has to eat by 6 so she can get to swim class on time!"

"Coming!" Leonard replied, pulling away from Penny, "I really have to go. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sure" Penny said rather apprehensively.

"You promise?"

"I Promise" she said, a smile forming on her face, "now go."

"All right, but call me if you need absolutely anything, got it?"

As she nodded her head, Leonard tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Leonard." As she sat back down on the bench, Bernadette came up and sat beside her.

"Hey, how you holding up?"

"I'm doing better, thanks." And she was. Leonard said it himself; _we're_ going to get through this. He didn't say _you_ are going to get through this, he said _we. _It was then Penny realized that the only way she would get through this was being a _we, _with Leonard by her side.

After staying over at Howard's that night, Leonard wanted more than anything to get out and find some peace and quiet. Sitting in his office, the only place he could call his right now, Leonard was surprised when he heard a light knock at the door.

"Come on in" he said, wanting nothing more than company right now. When Penny walked in, a smile immediately came across his face.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" she asked upon entering.

"Yeah, what's up?"

She took a breath, "Look, Leonard, what happened yesterday really put things into perspectives for me. Thinking that you were gone forever was a thought I couldn't even imagine, and it made me realize how much I need you in my life. I know I've been really unfair to you in the past, and you so don't deserve that. But you are my life now, and I can't let you go. I went through that once, there's no way I can do it again. I love you Leonard. I love you more than anything, and I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it." Tears were starting to form as she looked Leonard in the eyes.

"Penny, you know I feel the exact same way. But how do I know if it'll even last? How do I know you mean it this time? I can't go through that again, Penny, I just can't."

Now the tears were really starting to come "I know, I know. But, it's you and me. It's us. I lost you once; I won't go through that again. I can't." Then the crying began.

Leonard walked up to her, embracing her, comforting her, something that came second nature to him.

As she started calming down, Penny looked into Leonard's eyes, "so is there any way you would take me back?"

Instead of answering, Leonard cupped his hands along her jaw line and brought her in for a kiss; the kiss that they'd been missing for 6 months. A kiss filled with love, passion, and promise that this was forever.

Penny pulled back from the kiss eventually, but not wanting to break any more contact than necessary. She rested her forehead against his, slid her arms from his chest up and around his neck, and looked deep into his eyes. "Wow" she breathed, "this is it. This is where I want to be. It's just you and me forever, okay?"

Leonard, with his arms wrapped around her waist, nodded and said "I love you, Penny." And for the first time in his life after saying those words, he didn't hear a 'thank you'. He didn't hear an 'oh crap"-

"I love you too, Leonard. I love you so much." At that, he planted his lips back on hers, knowing that this was it. Penny was his life now, and he couldn't be happier.

The previous day, they'd both lost everything; they didn't have a home, they didn't have clothes, they'd lost everything they owned. But none of that mattered because they now had the only thing that mattered- they had each other.


End file.
